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Tag Archives: employment contracts

On February 28, 2019, a jury verdict of 2.9 million dollars was entered against Stake ‘N Shake, for not paying overtime to their managers.

That amount is likely to be doubled by the Court within the two months, or so, because under the FLSA the amount the jury awards is often doubled as a legally mandated penalty against the employer. The issue is that the employees suing Stake ‘N Shake were managers, and they were still entitled to overtime. In a famous case Family Dollar was hit with a judgement against them of over ten million dollars when their managers sued them, and they appealed and the appellate court determined their managers were entitled to overtime.

However, one of the most common things that people claim to have knowledge of about the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), and its overtime requirements, is that managers are not entitled to overtime pay. It is patently false that giving someone the title of manager means you do not have to pay them overtime. To not pay overtime, to someone you call a manager, they must fit a very specific set of legal guidelines that are interpreted through hundreds, if not thousands, of Court decisions. Failing to pay someone overtime, who meets the complex regulations interpreted through court decisions, means you can be sued for overtime in a very expensive Federal or State Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) Lawsuit. Often time payroll companies, and non FLSA Lawyers, get wrong which managers get overtime, and which do not. For help in knowing if your managers should be paid overtime, or if one of your managers is suing you for overtime, call Joshua Sheskin at the Ft. Lauderdale Florida Headquarters of Lubell Rosen LLC.- By: Joshua H. Sheskin, Esq., 954-880-9500 jhs@lubellrosen.com

The right to overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) cannot be given up in an employment contract, or agreed between the employer and employee not to apply. In hundreds of FLSA cases I have been involved in, one of the most common things employers are sued for is coming up with ways to pay their employees more, but that do not pay them overtime at one-and-one half times their regular hourly rate. Often times these employers tell me that the employee gladly signed a contract to be paid that way because it meant more money. A contract to pay less than one-and-one-half times the regular hourly rate for overtime hours is an illegal contract and completely unenforceable. An employee cannot give up his/her right to overtime, and an employer cannot agree to not follow the law. However, if you do want to pay your employees in a way that is not a strict hourly rate, and one-and-one-half times that rate for overtime, there are ways to do that for some employees. Other employees the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) does not require you to pay overtime to. While exceptions to overtime laws can be applied to some employees, and other employees can be paid a salary that reduces the overtime rate (salaried employees are entitled to overtime), complex legal rules apply. Implementing a system of payment that does not subject you to lawsuits usually requires a labor lawyer. The Fair Labor Standards Act is a specialized field. To have a specialist help you avoid costly lawsuits call or email Joshua Sheskin at Lubell Rosen today – By: Joshua H. Sheskin, Esq., 954-880-9500 – JHS@LubellRosen.com